Houses razed in Migron Jewish outpost by the IDF - Nighttime courtroom drama causes delay but operations resumed before dawn and forces completed their mission, with relatively little resistance; police detain six settlers; Mosque torched near Nablus - According to the report, unidentified perpetrators broke the windows in the facility's ground floor, and set tires on fire there. Hebrew slogans were spray-painted on a fence outside the mosque.
The slogans "Alei Ayin and Migron – Social Justice" and "Muhammad is a pig" were spray-painted in Hebrew on the fence outside.

Published: 09.05.11

Hundreds of police officers and Civil Administration officials arrived at the West Bank outpost of Migron overnight in order to raze several permanent structures. A nighttime courtroom drama caused a delay but operations resumed before dawn and the security forces completed their mission, with relatively minor resistance. Police detained six settlers during the operation. At around 1 a.m., the forces reached the location and surprised the settlers, catching them unprepared. While razing operations began at the site, the settlers rushed to submit a petition with the High Court of Justice, as the judge on call issued an interim injunction ordering the razing halted.

Chairman of the Yesha Council Danny Dayan and head of the Binyamin Regional Council alerted GOC Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi, of the injunction and the razing operations were stopped. After about an hour, the bulldozers resumed work as the police was informed that the injunction was canceled at the State's request. Even though the locals did not try to prevent the operation, dozens of "hilltop youth" managed to penetrate the security forces' ring around the perimeter and tried to prevent the bulldozers from razing the structures. Six were arrested. Security forces are preparing for a "price tag" operation, in response to the razing of the structures in the outpost. Indeed, hours later, a mosque in the village of Kusra, south of Nablus, was set on fire, Palestinian sources told Ynet. According to the report, unidentified perpetrators broke the windows in the facility's ground floor, and set tires on fire there. Hebrew slogans were spray-painted on a fence outside the mosque.

The slogan "Alei Ayin and Migron – Social Justice" was spray-painted in Hebrew on the fence outside.

The head of the Kusra Regional Council Hani Ismail Abu-Radi told Ynet that villagers arrived at the mosque at dawn for morning prayers and found the place on fire. "They entered the mosque with tires after they broke the windows and torched the first floor. We notified the Palestinian Liaison Office and they passed it on to the Israelis," he said. Abu-Radi added that the village has long since been a daily target of settlers from the area.Rasan Daglas, who holds the Palestinian Authority's settlements portfolio in the northern West Bank added, "This is not the first time that mosques have become targets for attacks." He called on the Quartet to intervene immediately.

The Rabbis for Human Rights organization alerted most Palestinian villages in the area overnight, warning them of a possible "price tag operations" in response to the razing of three permanent structures at the Migron outpost. The organization stressed that the warning had also been delivered to Kusra.

An Israeli police spokesman said police and army personnel had entered the village to inspect the damage to the mosque and that the investigation was ongoing.